[CPEO-MEF] Region is battling for Travis, Beale

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California
THE SACRAMENTO BEE
Region is battling for Travis, Beale
A new round of closures in 2005 is expected to hit as many as 100
facilities around the country.
By Pamela Martineau -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Sunday, April 13, 2003

While the nation remains riveted by war in Iraq, local officials across
the Sacramento region are eyeing another developing military venture
that could have severe economic impacts at home: base closures.

Officials in the communities around Travis and Beale Air Force bases
have established base retention committees and are meeting with
Washington officials to lobby to keep the bases off the military closure
list in 2005.

Boosters of Travis, near Fairfield, believe the base's increased stature
during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will help it withstand the next
round of closures. Officials in the communities around Beale are
downplaying speculation by some lobbyists in Washington that the base
near Marysville is vulnerable to closure because its key mission, air
reconnaissance, could be easily transferred to another installation.

"I don't think Beale is out of harm's way. But there is no base out of
harm's way," said Tim Johnson, executive director of the Yuba Sutter
Economic Development Corp.

U.S. Department of Defense officials are gearing up for another round of
base closures in 2005. Staff has been hired for the Base Realignment and
Closure Commission (BRAC). Some experts expect the next round of BRAC
closures could shutter as many bases as the approximately 100 that were
closed in all four past rounds of closures since 1988. The nation now
has about 400 major military installations.

California Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, a member of the Armed Services
Committee who represents Travis, said she hopes California will be
spared future closures, since the state took a "disproportionate hit"
during the last round.

A total of 29 California military installations, including Mather and
McClellan Air Force bases and the Sacramento Army Depot, were shuttered
in previous rounds. Those closures are estimated to have cost California
more than $9.6 billion in lost revenues and more than 92,000 jobs.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/6449249p-7401147c.html

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